


Birthday Lunch

by clovesfanfic



Category: Shameless (US)
Genre: Back Through Time, Birthday, Birthday Cake, Birthday Fluff, Childhood Friends, Day 3, Fluff, Gallavich Week, Gallavich Week 2019, Little Ian, Little Mickey, M/M, gw2019
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-03
Updated: 2019-06-03
Packaged: 2020-04-07 01:30:44
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,192
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19074736
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/clovesfanfic/pseuds/clovesfanfic
Summary: Small dribble of a fic for Gallavich Week Day 3: Back Through TimeIt’s Ian’s 7th birthday and he gets to choose one person to join him at his special birthday lunch with the teacher.Based on this tweet: https://twitter.com/ValeeGrrl/status/1134511353677471744





	Birthday Lunch

“Happy Birthday Sweetface!” Fiona called one last time as Ian and Lip walked down the front steps, backpacks hanging off their shoulders, off to the elementary school.

Ian threw a smile over his shoulder and happily skipped alongside his amazingly cool older brother Lip.

“So,” Lip started, “who you gonna invite to your birthday lunch with Mrs. Dobbs?”

Ian looked down at his shoes, “I dunno, haven’t thought about it." 

“Oh please!” Lip interjected, “It’s about to be June. No way you watched all the other kids have birthday lunches and haven't been thinking about.”

“Fine,” Ian grinned at his brother, he always could see right through him when he was trying to play it cool. Birthday lunches were a big deal to the kids in his grade. Really it was just the age where they were old enough to know birthdays were important but not too old to think eating with the teachers was lame. The 1st graders lived for it. “Maybe I have thought about it a little.” 

Birthday lunches was a 1st grade tradition at their school where the birthday kid got to choose one friend to come with them to have lunch in the teacher lounge with Mrs. Dobbs. It was a huge deal to get chosen because it meant you were someone's best friend. Someone’s first choice. Ian had been chosen twice this year. Once by his best friend Dylan, and once by a little blonde girl named Leah who was always hanging off of him. Ian didn’t really like that but he was the kind of kid to be nice to everybody anyways. 

Ian’s birthday was May 31st, and by this point, everyone in the class had been picked at least once for sure, at least to Ian’s seven year old memory.

“So who are you picking? Let me guess, Dylan? Or your girlfriend Leah?” 

Ian shoved his brother’s shoulder, “she’s not my girlfriend!” 

“Well, she acts like it.”

“Well, she’s not. And yeah, probably Dylan or Max.” Max was another one of Ian’s good friends; he had moved to the school after winter break and the three of them had quickly become a trio. 

“So predictable.”

“Pre-what?” Ian asked, always annoyed at Lip for purposely using third grade words he didn’t know yet.

“Pre-dic-ta-ble,” Lip enunciated, “means I can always guess what you’re gonna do.” 

“Oh,” Ian mused. He’d been called worse by Lip. 

“Well see ya later,” Lip said as they walked into the gates of school, running off to talk to the girls in his grade like always.

 _________________________________________________________________

The first two hours of class felt tediously slow for Ian, between his least favorite subject of math and having to spend his recess listening to Dylan and Max explain why they should choose him for birthday lunch.

But finally, lunch rolled around. It was kind of weird how they did it. Mrs. Dobbs would have the birthday child stand at the front of the room and scan the kids and then make their choice out loud, as if most everyone didn’t know who they were picking going in.

But Ian played along easily, loving everyone’s suspense and hope that maybe they’d get chosen.

“You’re our last birthday of the year before summer Ian, make it a good choice,” Mrs. Dobbs encouraged.

Ian’s eyes started on the right side of the room, where he saw Dylan smiling widely at him, eyes hopeful, he passed some of the other kids, then Zach, he’d been picked the most this year at four times, then he saw Leah batting her eyelashes, and Max on her otherside sitting up straight. Finally he came to the left back of the room, where Mickey Milkovich sat, scratching carvings into the wood desk with his pencil. Ian didn’t talk to him much, well rather, Mickey didn’t seem to talk to anyone much.

But Mickey had been chosen at some point for birthday lunch, right? Everyone had to have been by now. He did another quick scan of the room and nodded to himself. Yup. He remembered those people getting at least one birthday lunch. They all still looked eager to get chosen. But not Mickey. He couldn’t remember him getting chosen at all this year. That didn’t seem fair. Ian would probably have cried in Fiona’s arms if no one picked him all year. He didn’t even remember Mickey being the birthday boy himself. He was probably one of the poor kids that had a summer birthday. And yet, Mickey wasn’t even looking at Ian, willing him to pick him. He looked disgruntled as he focused on digging his pencil into the table.

“Alright, Ian,” the little red headed boy was brought out of his thoughts with a start by their teacher. “Any day now,” she laughed lightly.

Before he could think about what he was really doing, the name, “ _Mickey_ ,” was tumbling out of his mouth. He saw a lot of wide eyes and open mouths around the room, but none more surprised than Mickey himself.

“What?” the scowling dark haired boy asked from his desk in the back.

“Congratulations, Mickey!” Mrs. Dobbs exclaimed. “You are our final birthday friend of the school year!”

Ian could see Mickey’s cheeks turning red, with angry or embarrassment he wasn't sure. He hoped he hadn’t made a mistake choosing him. It just didn’t seem right to him that everyone else had a chance except him.

Mrs. Dobbs dropped most of the class at the cafeteria and they took Mickey and Ian, each in one hand to the teacher’s lounge.

Even though he’d been there twice before, Ian’s eyes still went wide as he took in the large round tables scattered throughout the room, the refrigerator and microwave, and the lounge couches against the windows. 

Ian threw an arm around Mickey’s shoulder, because that’s just the type of kid he was, “Isn’t this so cool, Mickey? This is your first time right?”

Mickey nodded shyly, but Ian could see a hint of a smile turning up, “It’s alright.” 

Ian just laughed because he thought it was way more than alright. “We’re gonna have pizza Mick! The real kind, not the school kind!”

That finally got a giggle out of Mickey, “Okay that part sounds pretty good.”

Mrs. Dobbs led them to a table by the far wall and the boys pulled out two padded chairs next to each other and plopped down, legs dangling high above the ground. “I’ll be right back boys, I’m going to the kitchen to get your pizza and chocolate milk.”

“Chocolate milk?” Mickey asked Ian, eyes wide after Mrs. Dobbs left.

Ian nudged Mickey with his shoulder, “Told ya it was the best in here. And we both get a cupcake after we eat. A cupcake Mickey!”

Mickey’s mouth dropped open, “Wow.”

“I know.” Even if his friends were going to be mad at him, Ian was glad he chose Mickey for birthday lunch. Seeing the excitement on his face experiencing it all for the first time had Ian getting even more excited himself.

They got quiet for a minute as they waited for Mrs. Dobbs to bring them their lunch. “Why did you pick me?” Mickey broke the silence. 

“Huh?” Ian asked.

“Why did you pick me for birthday lunch?” Mickey clairfied, “We ain’t friends or nothing. You have other friends.”

“Yeah, um” Ian looked Mickey in the eyes, “No one had picked you yet and I didn’t think that was fair.”

Mickey looked away and Ian could tell he’d said the wrong thing, “You don’t have to do me any favors, Ian. I call tell Mrs. Dobbs and she can go get one of your real friends if you want.”

“No!” Ian exclaimed, he had been having a good time with Mickey and he didn’t want him to go. “I like hanging out with you Mickey.”

“No one likes hanging out with me.”

“That’s not true.”

“Why do you think no one's picked me all year?”

Ian looked down, not sure what to say the other little boy. He liked it better when Mickey was happy and giggling. When they were happy and giggling together.

“Yeah, well, I think you're nice. I’m glad I chose you.

“You are?” Mickey asked a bit dumbfounded. No one had ever called him nice or wanted him around, not even his own siblings, except his sister Mandy. But she was just a dumb kindergartener so what did she know.

“Yeah!” Ian exclaimed completely honest, “We both love chocolate milk! Dylan and Max only like regular milk!” At seven, liking the same drink was enough to initiate a friendship.

“They don’t like chocolate milk?!” Mickey questioned. That seemed crazy to him. This would only be his third time ever having chocolate milk as the free lunch at school only came with apple juice or regular milk, but he’d had it twice at home when Terry had gotten paid a lot for a job and he knew he loved it. It tasted like sweet heaven. He loved all things sweet.

“It’s like they aren’t human!” Ian joked causing Mickey to laugh, eyes crinkling at the side.

Finally, Mrs. Dobbs returned with three plates of sizzling cheese pizza, “What are you two friends laughing at huh?”

 _Friends_. Mickey had a friend. He’d never had one before but he thought it felt good. Ian was nice and funny. His hair was puffy and red and weird, and he had dots all over every inch of skin showing but Mickey liked him anyways.

Mickey noticed Mrs. Dobbs had a regular glass of milk for herself and he nudged Ian to look at it and they cracked up again at their new inside joke. 

The rest of lunch was spent chatting and laughing as the teacher asked them if they were excited for summer and 2nd grade. 

Fiona had signed Ian and Lip up for the free camp at the local park. That sounded nice to Mickey; maybe he could ask his dad to sign him up when he was in a good mood. He probably wouldn’t though even if it was free. He’d say camp was for fags, whatever that meant.

Somehow, in Mrs. Dobbs questions, they discovered they lived just two streets over from each other. 

“Do you know what this means Mickey?” 

What” Mickey asked completely confused. Why did living near each other mean anything?

“It means we can play with each other!” Ian boasted. “Like after school and then after camp! We can build forts and play games. Doesn’t that sound great?”

Mickey smiled, that did sound pretty great. He had heard about play dates but he had never had one himself. He didn’t think his siblings had either. “Yeah, okay,” Mickey agreed. “But maybe at your house.” 

Ian nodded, goofy smile adorning his face, hair flopping around as he moved.

Before they knew it, it was time for the birthday cupcakes. They were the cheap store bought kind since that’s all a Southside school could afford, but the boys couldn't care less. They were seven and it was chocolate.

All the teachers in the room sang Happy Birthday to Ian and even Mickey sang along.

The boys dove into their cupcakes happy as can be, getting frosting all over the mouths.

Before the lunch bell rang, Mrs. Dobbs sent them down to the bathroom to wash up.

They giggled all the way there, Ian skipping and Mickey running along beside him.

It was more than just the sugar high.

Neither knew the other was thinking it, but both felt like they had just made a best friend for life.

“Thanks for picking me, Ian,” Mickey mumbled shyly as the boys sat against the wall outside of the bathroom, waiting out the last few minutes of lunch. 

Ian looked over at Mickey, “Anytime,” he smiled. “And now we’re friends right?” Ian needed to confirm Mickey wasn’t just going to go back to the scowling kid who never talked to him. He wanted to play with him and talk to him more and sit with him at lunch everyday. He was positive the other kids would love him just as much once they got to know him.

“Sure, Gallagher,” Mickey answered with a smirk.

“Cool,” Ian laughed, digging the nickname. It felt so grown up to him. “I’ll write down my address for you in class so you can come over whenever to play, okay?”

“Yeah, okay.” Mickey smiled as the bell rang and they hustled back to class.

And play they did. Mickey Milkovich and Ian Gallagher became inseparable since the birthday lunch in the teacher’s lounge on Ian’s seventh birthday.

When his other friends didn’t see what he saw in Mickey, Ian really had no qualms about dropping them. He’d quickly come to realize, all he needed by his side in life was the little dark haired boy with a scowl.

Mickey would always remember the day he got chosen for birthday lunch. It was the first time in his life he’d ever felt wanted or liked, but it certainly wouldn't be the last. Neither boy could have ever been more grateful.

 

**Author's Note:**

> Comments and Kudos are welcomed! This is my first little Ian and Mickey fic!  
> Hope you enjoyed it!


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